• lemmyvore
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    1 year ago

    Child labor has always been legal and widely used in the US agriculture. In fact American agriculture it’s pretty much dependent on farmers using their large families as free labor.

    They’re trying to expand that to other industries but of course it doesn’t work so well without the equivalent of the farmer argument.

    But if you’re upset because of the child labor or human rights themselves then that ship has long sailed.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      In fact American agriculture it’s pretty much dependent on farmers using their large families as free labor.

      That was always the excuse, but there’s already exceptions for a family owned business regardless of industry.

      I grew up on a tobacco farm, and most of my uncle’s had them too. So me and all my cousins worked in them pretty much since we could walk. It wasn’t that bad because it was a family thing.

      We could have done that legally without the agriculture exception though. Especially since it was family we never got paid.

      What the agriculture exception did mean tho was other kids were actual employees on someone else’s farm or chicken/turkey processing plant. And that’s a whole nother story especially considering the type of person to hire a literal child to slaughter birds for 8 hours at a time with a 100 other employees in shitty conditions just doesn’t give a fuck about any of the employees.

      They just want an employee they can pay less and won’t stand up for themselves

    • Nukemin Herttua@sopuli.xyz
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      1 year ago

      Yes I know that very well. In fact I took part in creating a exhibition about American Child laborers in the turn of the 20th century. It’s just that news like this remind you how backwards the world’s greatest superpower can be…

    • greedytacothief@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Here in New York most of the labor on big farms get done by migrants. The Mexicans know more about cows than the locals. Tho laws for maximum hours on farms is being reduced gradually from 60 to eventually 40 before you start to get overtime. So the agricultural industry here is making big moves to automation.